Three Practical Reasons to Quit Pornography

Whether or not you think you might be addicted to pornography, it can be a very harmful presence in your life. If you are currently in a relationship, you may have noticed the emotional damage that your porn-viewing does to your partner and the conflict it causes in your relationship. Along with the emotional damage, pornography can cause also cause some practical problems that you should take into account when you think about your habit. Porn is bad for your brain, your sex life, and your finances; these are three practical reasons to quit pornography today.

That porn habit is physically changing your brain. When you view pornographic images, you probably feel a sense of enjoyment, or you wouldn’t bother. That feeling is caused partly by a chemical called dopamine. Your brain evolved dopamine as part of a system to reward you for certain actions, like feeding, reproducing, and bonding with others, which increase your chances of surviving and passing on your DNA. In response to certain experiences, like a good meal, praise from a friend, or sexual stimulation, your brain releases dopamine. Dopamine is a kind of chemical called a neurotransmitter, which gives your body an instruction when it comes into contact with a structure in the brain called a synapse. In the case of dopamine, that instruction is basically “feel happy.” The problem with porn and other addictions is that too much artificial stimulation of dopamine release- too much porn or drugs or alcohol- changes the chemical balance in your brain so that you need more dopamine to get the same feeling, and stronger triggers to release that dopamine. Scientists call this tolerance. If you already suffer from depression or bipolar disorder, this is an even bigger risk, because the chemical balance in your brain is already disrupted; if you don’t already suffer from depression, remember that this disrupting of your brain chemistry can actually cause it.

Porn can wreck your real sex life. One of the mental side effects of porn is something that some researchers have called the “Centerfold Syndrome.” Being presented with airbrushed, perfect, idealized- and mostly fake- images of the opposite sex tends to change your expectations. If you see enough slender, big-busted, flawlessly perfect actresses, for instance, that becomes your standard of beauty no matter how unrealistic it is (and it is unrealistic), s0 you start judging real people’s appearance more harshly. That’s not unique to porn; the same problem has been pointed out with ordinary Hollywood movies, magazine ads, and commercials; the media we consume is setting unattainable standards that almost no one can achieve without plastic surgery. Pornography just takes it to extremes. The end result can be less physical intimacy with your real-life partner; a 2008 study in the Journal of Sex Research discovered that men who viewed a lot of porn were likely to say that they became more critical of their partner’s appearance and lost interest in sex with their partner as a result. If you think you’re not one of those guys, bear in mind that twice as many women reported that their porn-watching spouses became more critical, and that this criticism made the women less interested in sex. Porn skews your expectations in ways that can push your partner away.

One way or another, porn is expensive. At one point during the height of my husband’s last “episode,” we were paying more in a month for porn than we were paying for electricity. Think about that for a minute. Think about the things you could buy, the bills you could pay, the fun and exciting things you could do, with the money you may be spending on porn (which we’ve already shown is really hurting you anyway). You may think that buying one twenty-dollar-a-month subscription to one site is no big deal, but that’s the danger of porn; remember that as you view more porn, you change your brain chemistry so that it needs even more porn to get the same result. That means that your one site subscription can turn into three or four or more before you even realize it. That adds up to a lot of money. If you think you can avoid this by sticking to free sites, think again; that tolerance your brain is building will eventually mean that your habit is going to force you to seek more than you can find on free sites. Besides, even free sits come with expensive risks, like adware, spyware, and viruses that can cause expensive damage to your computer (think of them as digital STDs).

If you’ve been convinced by anything you read here, or if you have questions, please check out Alex’s free recovery course, and visit our forums for advice and support.

Internet Accountability Software
Using this software allowed me to get truly honest with my internet usage for the first time in my life. For some reason knowing that my every step was being observed and reported on, made it really easy to use internet only in a healthy way.

Treating Pornography Addiction by Kevin B. Skinner Ph.D.
I have read over 15 books on Pornography and Sexual addiction and this truly is one of the best books on the subject. The reason is I recommend this particular book is because it is full of excellent actionable steps. Other books do a good job describing the problem, but don’t really offer a realistic solution.

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Comments

Porn addiction is real. I’ve been watching internet porn for over a decade and wonders why I was always depressed. I obsess over smoking hot girls getting themselves off, and then progresses to fetishes and worse. Im in a relationship with a girl that I love very much and want to give all of myself to her. Sex is better without porn as well. Today is day 2 without watching, let’s see how long I can last.

I just caught my fucking brother on porn but I caught it on my camera so dad will go ape shit when I show him oh yeah my dad is a giant body gaud my brother will have fun with him also I posted the video of him wanking on his Facebook

“we were paying more in a month for porn than we were paying for electricity.” when was this really written?!?! the 90’s. Porn is free! every where… just the words “sex” and “tube” and you have streaming porn for as long as you want.

The issue is not the porn – the issue is self control! What happens when serious hard drugs are made legal and they are super easy to access. The same thing men are doing with porn. Many will abuse!

So this really is more about addictive behaviour then an addiction to one thing – like sex or porn. Really good article. Just thought I’d chip in and say what I thought.

I have given my 10th class exam and since they give a lot of holidays,I cant stop myself from watching porn… please me..I am a very good boy and dont wanna betray mom n dad…or else my study carrier is ruined….HELP….

Most of the comments look staged/fake. Masturbation, like anything else, should be done in moderation. Quitting it altogether seems like an unnecessary extreme. Perhaps if the poster had more sex with her husband, he wouldn’t resort to PAYING(seriously?)for porn.

I am against porn because it is not real or three-dimensional, and soon becomes boring, but then so does three-dimensional sex with a real person becomes boring. If you have never done sex, then porn can be educational so see how it is done. Too much of any thing is always not good for you. If you have watched porn several times, then there is no need to continue watching porn because you are not learning any thing new and just wasting your time. The problem with sex, is that if you are not getting it, then you want it, but if you are getting it, then you soon become bored and don’t want, or you want it with a new person who has a shapely body. In the imagination it is great, but in real life it is not so great, unless it is your first time.

i have been watching porn for 3years and masturbatinf too…but i am going to try to stop..because when ever i do it i feel weak and i get a headache..and i feel that i wont be able to give birth..but i am changing my mnd nd soul ..on porn..
good bye. porn and masturbation. have a nice life without moi.

dude..lots of these comments could be fakes. who knows. God almighty!
porn is a’right
doesnt kill..makes you strong, yeah?
beside there no reason be feel down
REAP! sow and reap!
and be happy. and prays that things goes well.

I’m not so sure about porn being an addiction, just like I am not so sure that this article cites anything more than personal experience. There are differences between “why to quit porn” and “reasons to quit”, those differences are factual studies about the harms of pornography. If your husband has a problem with “sex addiction” he probably has a whole list of other behaviors that demonstrate a lack of self control. These symptoms are of a larger more board concept then JUST a compulsion for sex.
I would also hate to chalk up “decreased attraction to a partner” to just pornography.

i felt totally relax after stop watching porn images videos for 3 years i was continously watching porn every day and mastubating 2 times daily as a result i lost my mind equilibrium and i went in to depression slow one i felt i am going to die soon no effect on my sex life happened but on emale must mastubate not more than 3 times a week and also porn should be watched as low as possible it s not good thought it give u pleasure it release dopamine but imbalance the brain chemical so freinds be happy in life enjoy life fuck ur g/f and wife as much u can do sucking cock /pussy but plz in moderate ,eat moderate keep smiling keep fucking hot chicks if vailable mastubate have good sex drive let ur partner suck ur cock and cum inher mouth with her permission .
bye
anuj

I Was just watching porn and that bad feeling of guilt after watching and after each time i watched porn for 6 years now, telling me that doing something against our nature is always bad and i decided to quit.I duno why i chosed this website to write such thing but i think i needed to see my decision written infront of my eyes.

Completely agree with this, particularly number 1. I’m currently going through pretty strong withdrawal depression and a weird feeling of mental numbness since quitting porn. Thanks for the really useful information on your site.

Knowing how most men are, they could care less that looking at porn damages their brain or hurts their sex life but once it starts hitting them in their wallet, then they’ll think twice before checking out a XXX website!